


Family is Forever

by Adariall



Category: The Hobbit (2012)
Genre: Children can make a grown man cry, Family Feels, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-23 04:29:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/618080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adariall/pseuds/Adariall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thorin may be King under the Mountain and a warrior without compare, but he might not exactly be the world’s best babysitter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family is Forever

Thorin was a warrior. He was a king forged in battle and there was very little that he feared, and it is for that reason that he never expected to find himself driven to his knees by his young nephews. They were little more than babes so he had agreed to watch them for his sister willingly. She was a mother alone and he knew that she needed at least some time to herself that wasn’t filled with children.

She left early in the morning, planning on making her way to a small gathering of women that attempted to meet once every year or so, when their lives allowed. Thorin stood in the door, watching as she left and he waited until she was out of sight before he closed the door. His nephews were still asleep but he knew that they would be up before long and he was looking forward to that. He had spent very little time with Fili and Kili since they were infants and he wanted to get to know them better now that they were older. However he did not know that what he’d planned, what he’d hoped, would not come to fruition.

The children woke up in stages, first sleepily walking from their bedroom before almost falling into the low chairs set around the table. Kili was dressed in a nightshirt that was far too large for his slender frame, the sleeves covering his hands and almost trailing along the floor. Fili was dressed similarly, but his nightshirt was far better fitting and Thorin could see that he took after the men in his line.

“Hello, Uncle.” Fili’s voice was soft and he looked up at his uncle with a sleepy smile. He nudged his brother with his elbow but Kili ducked his head almost shyly.

Thorin rubbed his hand across his mouth, hiding a grin before he knelt down on the floor next to Kili’s chair. “Hello little nephew.”

Kili looked up slightly, oversized sleeves half covering his face. “Hello.” He mumbled.

“You have grown, haven’t you?” He reached out and ruffled his hair. “The last I saw you, you were barely able to string two words together and you were no taller than my knee.”

Fili bumped his brother’s shoulder with his own. “I told you, you were growing.”

Thorin watched as Kili’s face lit up and he slowly pulled his hands away from his face.

“Really?”

“Yes, young one. You are, and one day you’ll be tall and strong like those who came before.”

“Just like our Papa.” Fili wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulders and Kili suddenly looked proud.

Thorin nodded in agreement. “And your Grandfather before him.” He pushed himself to his feet and smiled warmly at them. “You both will be. You are the heirs to our line and you will be fine examples to the world.”

Kili kicked his feet against the legs of his chair and he giggled. As the morning wore on he began to come out of his shell and by the time midday had come around Thorin found himself dealing with two hyperactive children and there was no end in sight. Kili began chattering a mile a minute and Thorin could hardly understand what he was saying, but it was obvious that Fili knew exactly was going on. There was a yelp and suddenly Kili was flying across the room, Fili hot on his trail. The boys chased each other around the kitchen, tearing around the table at break neck speed and Thorin reached out to catch them. Fili was the easier of the two boys to grab and he held him under one arm as he waited for Kili to round the table once again and as soon as he did he caught him as well.

“Calm yourselves.” He scolded them. “The kitchen is no place to be acting like fools.”

Fili had the sense to appear ashamed, however Kili simply grinned up at Thorin before wriggling free and fleeing across the room.

The day only spiralled even further out of his control from there. Fili was always at his brother’s side, making sure that he didn’t hurt himself, however when Kili began to scale the rough stone wall that made up the hearth he settled on the floor, giggling.

Thorin gaped as he reached the ceiling and began to swing himself up and onto the beams. He hadn’t expected that from such a young dwarf, especially one of his heritage. He managed to shake himself back into reality after several long moments and crossed his arms against his chest, struggling to keep up the energy he needed to keep up with the boys.

“Kili, you are to come down from there now.”

Kili stuck his tongue out at him in response, pulling himself up onto one of the larger beams that crossed the ceiling space.

“This is not something that is fitting for someone from our family.”

“Then I don’t want to be from that family. I want to play.” He perched on the beam, looking as if he belonged there.

Thorin clenched his teeth together, hands curling into fists at his side. “Fine then. You can stay up there until you are ready to come down and behave.”

“Okay!”

He waited, and waited, and waited, time passing slowly as he sat back in his chair at the table, watching as his nephew stretched out across the beam. Kili watched his brother and Fili settled on his back, staring up at him. Thorin began to notice that out of the corner of his eye that there was something fluttering and as he turned his head to look he realized that the two children were talking to each other. He knew that Dis would have taught them at the very least the basics of Iglishmêk, however he had not expected to see his nephews using it as fluidly as they were. He knew grown men and women who could barely use it at all, but the boys, they seemed as if they had been using it for the entirety of their short lives. All at once he was torn between the desire to watch the interplay between the boys, and yet he knew he had to somehow get Kili down from his perch up in the rafters.

“Kili, please, come down from there.” He finally spoke, completely defeated as he looked up at his youngest nephew with exhaustion, all fight finally leaving his body.

Kili for his part swung upside down by his knees from the beam that he had been sitting on so primly, his hair falling out of the careful braids his mother had tamed his hair into the previous evening. “No.”

Giggling, Fili kicked his legs against the bottom of the chair as he looked up at his brother, obviously used to his antics.

“Your mother will be home soon and she expects you to be in bed.”

Fili shook his head. “No she doesn’t. Mama said that we were allowed to be awake when she got home. Kili made her promise.”

Thorin almost threw his arms up in despair. He’d been praying for the respite of his nephews settling in to sleep for the evening, but now that he knew otherwise he felt completely and utterly helpless. He scrubbed his face hard with his hands and looked up at Kili before sighing. “Fine. It’s your choice, little one. Perhaps your mother will be interested to hear of this.”

Kili slowed to a stop, and Fili stopped giggling, both children turning to look at him. Little by little Kili began to creep down from the ceiling, his little hands making surprisingly easy work of climbing back down the wall near the door. He dropped down to the ground next to his brother and sat down next to him before curling into his side.

“Are you both done?” He asked, watching them with narrowed eyes.

They both nodded, light and dark hair mixing together as they leaned into each other.

He exhaled slowly, feeling relief flood through his body. The boys must have noticed the change in his poster because little by little they began to settle, and after several minutes he noted that Kili’s eyes were beginning to fall shut. He tilt his head to the side, silently watching as his nephews finally began to fall asleep and if he was being honest with himself he felt happier than he had in a long time, knowing that he would finally have some peace after a day of dealing with the boys. All but falling face first onto the table, he closed his own eyes, knowing that his sister would be home soon and he could not be more grateful for that fact.

It seemed like only the blink of an eye, but he started slightly as he heard the door creak open and as he glanced up he realized that the sky was dark and it was his sister coming home. She stepped inside the house quietly and he knew it was from years of experience, but he could not keep himself silent for any longer.

“Sister, why do you hate me?” Thorin didn’t raise his head from the table.

Dis raised an eyebrow as she shut the door carefully behind her so as not to disturb her children. “Why would you even ask such a thing?”

“Because these children of yours are a far more effective form of warfare than I have ever experience in my life.” His shoulders shook lightly. “I have met orcs in battle who were less terrifying than them.”

She had to fight against the smile that was threatening to spread across her lips. “Now why would you say that, fearless brother of mine?”

“I spent the better part of the evening trying to convince your youngest that hanging from the ceiling by his legs was not something that a boy in line for the throne should be doing, and needless to say he simply stayed up there even longer in spite of that. And Fili….he continually egged his brother on.”

Her eyes fell on the spot where her youngest slept, curled up with his brother next to Thorin’s legs and she sighed exasperatedly. “They are children, Thorin, not beasts. You simply need to know how to refocus them.”

“There is no refocusing them when they are bent on wreaking terror.”

Dis stroked her brother’s hair fondly. “They are only children once, Thorin. You and I both know that they will grow up soon enough and we will cherish these times spent with them.”

Finally raising his head, Thorin looked up at his sister and when their eyes met he saw a lingering sadness there that he had not noticed before. He exhaled softly and nodded once before covering her free hand with his own. “You are right, sister. They will not have the childhood they would have had growing up in the halls of our kin, the childhood that we had.”

“I know.” She squeezed his hand. “But they are surrounded by those who love them and that is far better than all of the gold and jewels in the world.”

“With you as their mother, they will never be wanting for that.” Thorin stood carefully and pulled his sister into his arms for a moment in an uncharacteristic show of affection. “And I promise you that I will be here whenever I can.”

“Thank you.” She hugged him tightly before stepping back out of his arms. She cleared her throat and pushed her hair back away from her face before looking back at him, a smile back in place. “But that is enough of that, brother. These children need to be put to bed before they wake up and begin to run about again.”

Thorin shuddered and nodded rapidly in agreement. “That is the last thing we need tonight.”

“Then you take Fili and I will take Kili and they can settle in the same bed for the evening.” She shook her head fondly. “They have a remarkable ability to calm each other when they wake in the night.”

Lifting Fili carefully, Thorin couldn’t help but smile. “I seem to remember something very similar when you and I were children.”

Dis cradled Kili to her chest and bit her lip, trying not to laugh as she carried him toward the room that he shared with his brother. “I believe I recall something like that myself.”

Thorin was about to reply when Fili began to stir slightly so instead he remained silent and followed his sister, moving carefully so as not to wake his nephew further. He watched as Dis settled Kili on the large bed that he shared with Fili and he followed suit, copying her motions to ensure that neither of the boys were jostled.

Once they were both safely on the bed, Dis unfolded the quilt from the bottom of the bed and covered her sons with it. She watched as they curled together, seeking each other out even in their sleep. They were special boys, she’d known that from the start and she knew that their path to becoming men would not be without its interesting twists and turns. She looked forward to it though, they were her children and come what might she would always be there for them.

“Come, sister.” Thorin’s voice startled her slightly and his hand came to rest on her hip. “We can sit and speak more of the past before I take my leave.”

She leaned into him slightly, feeling herself relax. “I would like that.”

“Then we shall.” He began to guide her out of the room and he watched her fondly as he did so. They were family and he would never abandon them, something that he hoped she knew with all of his heart.


End file.
